The 34-year-old is thought to be demanding a weekly wage of up to £600,000 to play in the Premier League, but former Spurs and Newcastle winger Ginola believes the club should concentrate more on youth.

On potentially signing Ibrahimovic, Ginola told Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast: “He is reaching 35 and is probably at the end of his career. I don’t think it should be an option for Louis van Gaal or whoever is in charge next season.

“It is better to build a team around the youth and what they are doing at Man United right now with Rashford, Lingard and Martial, I would rather see that.

“Louis van Gaal has spent £200million on players and at the moment he is relying on 18-year-old kids. What is the point [of spending that money]?

“We are looking for teams and massive clubs like Man United to invest very significant amounts of money on the youth and the academy. Barcelona for ten years worked really hard to bring talent from the academy right up to the first team and that is exactly what they have done. I see the future going that way rather than spending hundreds of millions on players.

“I don’t want to see mercenaries in football. I want to see people who know inside out what the history of the club is all about and when you wear the shirt, you really play for them.”